Weft end extractor



April 3 1963 MASAMI KIMURA 3,086,561

WEFT END EXTRACTOR Filed Aug. .25, 1960 4 Sheets-Sheet l April 1963 MASAMI KIMURA 3,086,561

WEFT END EXTRACTOR Filed Aug. 25, 1960 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 III" if H

April 23, 1963 MASAMI KIMURA WEFT END EXTRACTOR 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Aug. 25, 1960 gmau April 23, 1963 Filed Aug. .25, 1960 MASAMI KIMURA WEFT END EXTRACTOR 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 United States Patent This invention relates to cop changing automatic looms, and more particularly it relates to a new and improved weft filling mechanism in the weft pirn changing mechanism of cop changing, automatic looms.

Among the weft pirn charging mechanisms of copchanging; automatic looms used heretofore, the most conventional have been the system using a circular battery, and the system using a chute guide. In the case of either of these systems the number of pirns which can be charged at one time has been approximately 15 to 28. During the charging procedure, moreover, it has been necessary for the operator to carry out the operation of pulling out the yarn ends by hand from the yarns of all pirns, one by one; placing the said pirns in order in the magazine, and winding the said pulled-out yarn ends successively about an end holding member of the mechanism. Although such an operation is simple and does not require much specialized technique, the amount of labour involved is considerable. That is, it is common practice to station one operator in the pirn supply system for every 70 looms.

The above-mentioned operations can be accomplished mechanically; and, by making the number of pirns which can be charged at one time extremely large, and by carrying out the work of drawing out the ends mechanically, it is possible to increase to an extreme degree the number of looms with respect toone operator.

It is an essential object of the present invention to provide a new and improved weft filling mechanism in copchanging automatic looms, whereby the above-stated increase in the number of looms which canbe readily controlled by one operator can be economically increased.

It is another object of the invention to provide a weft filling mechanism as stated above which is simple and of low cost in construction, which requires no additional motive power, and which is reliable in operation and economical in maintenance.

The said objects and other objects and advantages, as will presently become apparent, have been achieved by the weft filling mechanism of the present invention.

In one aspect of the invention, the above-mentioned requirement for increasing the number of pirns to be charged at one time may be satisfied by merely providing a suitable magazine box into which the operator needs only to feed the pirns in order, and wherein the pirns, thereafter, are alined one by one, precisely in order, within a guide chute, and the foremost pirn is placed in a state of readiness for the next pirn-changing operation. The result is exactly the same as the positioning of a pirn in a conventional pirn changing mechanism.

The yarn end wound about the head portion of the weft pirn thus held in position is mechanically unwound. If the pirn is then to be placed into a shuttle, and the shuttle is to be picked by a picking stick, a large tension will be imparted to the weft yarns. Therefore, it is necessary to hold the said yarn ends in such a manner that the hold thereon will not be lost because of the said tension.

Then, after a conventional pirn changing mechanism, or a mechanism equivalent thereto, has operated, a weft yarn cutting mechanism acts to prevent the dangling of surplus yarn ends from the 'selvage of the woven fabric.

In such a new operating process as described above, in the case of the present invention, the pirn feeding device comprises merely a rectangular box which has been suitably prepared, of which one pirn is fed into each shuttle. A push-up mechanism is provided to prevent a jamming or bridge state of the pirn which, otherwise, often occurs.

For picking up the pirn end, an endless travelling brush is provided, whereby the yarn end is positively drawn out by the contacting of the yarn surface with the brush. Subsequently, the said yarn end is held positively by the motion of the brush in turning through degrees in orientation. However, since the said yarn end cannot be permitted to be held continuously for an indefinite time by the brush, the said yarn end is removed by a special pin cylinder in a west box located therebelow.

In order to make the above-described operational actions positive and infalliable, an auxiliary air-blast mechanism is provided. The air blast from this mechanism is used near the point where the yarn end is drawn out by the brush from the pirn, whereby it aids the action of the brush in holding the yarn end.

It is an advantageous feature of the invention that it is possible to provide the above-described mechanisms without entailing the need for an additional electric motor or source of power, the motor for driving the loom being amply sufficient for the operation of said mechanisms.

The details of the invention will be more clearly apparent by reference to the following detailed description of representative embodiments of the invention when taken in connection with the accompanying illustrations, in which the same or equivalent parts are designated by the same reference numerals, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view, with parts cut away, showing the internal elements of one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view, with parts cut away, showing the essential elements of the embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a plan view, with parts cut away, of the elements shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a view showing a weft pirn in the condition wherein its yarn end is being drawn out by an endless travelling brush according to the invention;

FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view of one example of the pin cylinder suitable for use in. the mechanism of this invention; and

FIG. 6 is a longitudinal section taken along the centerline axis of the view shown in FIG. 5.

Very slight differences in configurations of certain parts exist between FIG. 1 and FIGS. 2 and 3.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, a rectangular magazine box 1 is disposed on the outer side of the frame 2 on the weft pirn changing side of a cop-changing automatic loom, other parts of said loom not being shown. The magazine box 1 is so constructed that a large number of Weft pirns 7 can be contained therein mutually side by side with their axes in the transverse direction. A discharge outlet 4 is provided at one end of the bottom 3 of the magazine box 1, the said outlet 4 being so adapted that the weft pirns contained in the box 1 can be discharged sidewardly one by one therethrough. The bottom 3 of the magazine box 1 is sloped downwardly toward the discharge outlet 4, below which is provided a guide chute 6 which guides the pirns in alined succession to a position below a transferer 5. The said position is principally predetermined by arresting members 8 and 9, which are pivoted on rods fixed to the frame 2 and maintained in sideward positions by springs, but may be rotated against the forces of said springs by pushing down on their extreme ends.

In the operation of the above-described feeding mechanism, a large number of weft pirns 7, with their yarns in the wound state, are placed transversely side by side in the magazine box 1, whereupon the sloped attitude of the bottom 3 causes the said pirns 7 to move progressively toward the discharge outlet 4, through which the said pirns 7 drop one by one into the guide chute 6. The foremost pirn 7a is temporarily arrested and held in the aforesaid predetermined position below the transferer by the arresting members 8 and 9. I

When the weft yarn in the shuttle (not shown) has been used up, a conventional pirn changing mechanism operates, whereby the aforesaid pirn 7a is supplied into the said shuttle by the transferer 5.

'It is one of the most important features of the present invention that, prior to the supply of the pirn 7a into the shuttle, the yarn end is drawn out positively and held firmly by a simple mechanism. Said simple mechanism consists, essentially, of an endless brush '10 which is stretched between a driving roll 11 and a tension roll 12 in a run away from said pirn and a run toward said pirn, and which is so disposed that a portion of its bristled surface lightly contacts the outer yarn surface at the end portion of the pirn 7a.

During its operation, the said endless brush moves slowly in the direction of the arrow 13 so that it brushes the surface of the end portion of the pirn 7a in the direction toward the extreme end of the said pirn. As the surface of the winding end of the pirn 7a is thus brushed constantly by the bristles of the brush toward the end of the pirn, the yarn, beginning at its end, is gradually loosened from the pirn end, and clings to and is conveyed apart by the brush 10. When, as is indicated in FIG. 4, the drawn out yarn 14 has moved around the driving roll 11 and is bent around to the opposite side, the force with which the brush :10 is holding the yarn 14 is substantially large, being sufficient to prevent the yarn 14 from being pulled oif the brush '10 by the tension which is imparted thereon when the pirn 7a is subsequently supplied into the shuttle and is picked into the warp (not shown), which is disposed to the right of the mechanisms shown in FIGS. 1 and 3.

As the weaving operation of the loom begins with a newly supplied pirn, a conventional cutting mechanism operates to cut the yarn 14 at a point between the selvage and the brush 10. If the cut yarn ends were to be left on the brush 10, they would soon accumulate to an extent whereby the performance of the brush 1-0 would be impaired. In order to dispose of the cut yarn ends, a rotating pin cylinder 15 is disposed in the vicinity of the outer surface of the brush 10 on the side thereof opposite to that of the pirn 7a. The said pin cylinder 15, which has a large number of pins 16 about its cylindrical surface, is caused to rotate in the direction of the arrow 17. When the yarn 14, clinging to the brush 10, moves around the driving roll 11 and reaches the position of the pins 16 of the cylinder 15, it is here clawed off the brush 10 by the pins 16.

One representative example of the method of driving the brush 10 and pin cylinder 15 is indicated in FIGS. 1 and 2. A pulley 19 is fixed to the shaft 18 to which the driving roll 11 of the brush 10 is fixed, and a pulley 20 and a ratchet wheel 21 are fixed to the shaft 25 of the pin cylinder 15. A drive belt 24 is stretched between the pulleys 19 and 20 over guide sheaves 22 and 23. A lever 26 is pivoted on the shaft 25 of the pin cylinder 15 and rotatably supports a pawl 27 which is engageable with the ratchet teeth of the ratchet wheel 21. The end of the lever 26 is linked by a connecting rod 30 to the end of a lever 29 which is fixed to a rocking shaft 28. Driving power is derived from a lathe (not shown), each reciprocating cycle of which causes the rod 30 to be thrust upwardly to drive the pin cylinder 15 in the direction of the arrow 17.

One representative actual example of the pin cylinder 15 suitable for use in the mechanism of the invention is illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6. In the construction shown, the principal structural member is a cylinder 15a supported rotatably on a shaft 25. The cylindrical wall of the cylinder 15a is provided with a large number of pin holes 31, wherein pins 16a having heads 16b are disposed in a freely slideable manner with their sharp points pointed outwardly. A cam 32 whose length in the axial direction is such as to permit enclosure within the interior of the cylinder 15a is fixed to the shaft 25, and the aforesaid pin heads 16b are held in constant contact with the cam surface of cam 32 by springs 33 provided between the pin heads 16b and the inner cylindrical surface of the cylinder 15a. An extended portion 34 is provided on the side wall of the cylinder 15a and rigidly supports the aforesaid pulley 20 and the ratchet wheel 21, In the assembled state, the shaft 25 is rigidly fixed so that the lobe of the cam 32 is pointed toward the nearest portion of the brush 10, whereby, as the cylinder 15a is rotated in the arrow direction 17, the pins 16a are forced to protrude outwardly from the surface of the cylinder 15a when they approach the brush 10 and claw off the cut yarn ends. However, when the said pins 16a revolve further and draw away from the brush 10, they are caused to retract progressively into the cylinder 15a until they are fully retracted below the surface of the cylinder 15a.

By the use of such a pin cylinder as described above, there is no possibility of the yarn ends which have been clawed off the brush '10 clinging to the pins 16a and being Wrapped about the surface of the cylinder 15a.

As was mentioned before, an air blast mechanism is provided to facilitate the handling of the yarn ends. In the representative embodiment illustrated, this mechanism comprises, as shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, essentially, a fan 35 driven by a crank shaft 36, supplying air through a pipe '37 to a nozzle 38 whose ejecting opening is directed from behind the pirn 7a toward the brush 10. A portion of the air flow ejected from the nozzle '38 impinges upon the end portion of the pirn 7a and blows the yarn end toward the brush 10, thereby facilitating the interception of the said yarn end by the brush 10. Another portion of the air flow blows the drawn-out yarn against the brush 10, thereby fulfilling an auxiliary function of increasing the positiveness with which the yarn cling to the brush.

As af-ore-described, since the bottom 3 of the magazine box 1 is sloped downwardly toward the discharge outlet 4, the intended normal movement of the pirns 7 contained in the box 1 is a gradual, a sequential motion toward the outlet 4, then a successive drop, one pirn at a time, into the guide chute 6. In actual practice, however, the mutual pressures between the pirns often cause a so-called bridge state to occur above the discharge outlet 4, whereby it becomes impossible for the pirns to drop naturally into the guide chute 6.

It is another important feature of the invention that the development of the above-mentioned bridge state is prevented, and that, if it should develop, it will be destroyed,

whereby the pirns within the magazine box 1 are possitively led into the guide chute 6. r

The said feature is provided by a mechanical device comprising, essentially, a window 39' in the bottom 3 in the vicinity of the discharge outlet 4; a plate 40 of special configuration disposed in the said window 39; a shaft 41 to which the upstream edge of the plate 40 is fixed, and which is supported pivotally by the frame 2; a lever 42 which is fixed to said shaft 41; and any suitable power transmission mechanism for transmitting power from some moving part of the loom to the said lever 42. By way of example, the lever 42 of the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2 is linked by a connecting rod 44 to a crank stud 43, which is driven by a tappet shaft 45 through a speed-reducing gear train including worms and worm Wheels.

In the embodiment illustrated, as the crank stud 43 rotates, its motion is transmitted by the rod 44 to the lever 42 to cause the plate 40 to oscillate at an extremely low frequency about the shaft 41, thereby moving the pirns in the vicinity of the discharge outlet 4. Accordingly, development of the afore-mentioned bridge state is almost completely prevented, or, if it should somehow develop, is promptly destroyed.

By the use of the combination of mechanisms according to the present invention as above described, the pirns within a magazine box are led, one at a time, to a predetermined position; their yarn ends are automatically drawn out and held; then the pirns are supplied successively into the shuttle by a conventional pirn changing mechanism. Accordingly, by merely charging the magazine box with a large number of weft pirns, it is possible thereafter to operate the loom continuously for a long period of time without the necessity of any human manipulation whatsoever.

Since it is obvious that many changes and modifications can be made in the above described details without departing from the nature and spirit of the invention, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited t othe details described herein except as set forth in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a weft filling mechanism for an automatic pirn changing mechanism of a cop changing, an automatic loom which comprises a weft pin storing and feeding means for feeding weft pirns one at a time to a predetermined position, arresting and holding members for positioning and holding each said pirn at the said predetermined position, and a mechanism for positively drawing out and holding the yarn end of the said pirn positioned in the said predetermined position; the construction of said mechanism for positively drawing out and holding the yarn end of the said pirn comprising an endless, continuously travelling brush in the form of an endless belt supported on a driving roll and a tension roll, said brush being disposed in the vicinity of said pirn positioned in the said predetermined position to brush the constricted end of the said positioned pirn to draw out the yarn end of the pirn and to hold the same, a pin cylinder which is provided with a large number of outwardly pointed pins slidably supported in individual pin holes in the cylindrical wall of the said cylinder and disposed in the proximity of the said travelling brush on the side opposite that of the said positioned pirn, the axis of rotation of said cylinder being substantially parallel to the direction of the motion of said brush, and a device for causing the protrusion of the said pins when they approach the said endless brush and retraction of the said pins when they go away from the said endless brush, position of said protrusion of the pin is selected to claw off any out yarn ends clinging to the said brush.

2. A weft filling mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the device for causing the protrusion of the said pins is consisted of a stationary shaft which supports the pin cylinder therearound, a cam fixed to the said shaft, springs which held the head of the said pins in contact with the surface of said cam, and a driving means for rotating said pin cylinder, said cam being oriented so as to cause the full protrusion of the said pins to occur at their rotational positions nearest the said brush to claw off any out yarn ends clinging to the said brush.

3. A weft filling mechanism according to claim 1, the mechanism for drawing out and holding the yarn end is provided with an air blast device which comprises a conventional blower fan, an air duct connected to the outlet of said blower, and a nozzle formed at the working end of said air duct and disposed behind the said positioned pirn eject an air toward the said mechanism for drawing out and holding the yarn end, thereby assisting the function of said mechanism, and another portion of the air flow is directed to cause the said yarn end to cling more firmly to the holding surface of the said mechanism for drawing out and holding the yarn end.

4. A weft filling mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the stated pirn storing and feeding means comprises: a rectangular magazine box having a bottom which is sloped downwardly toward the discharge end, on said bottom being disposed a large number of weft pirns which are disposed side by side, transversely to the direction of their feeding movement in the said box; a discharge outlet provided at the said discharge end, said outlet being designed to discharge the pirns in said box one by one, a guide chute connected to said discharge outlet for guiding the said pirns in successive order to the said predetermined position; and means for preventing the jamming of a socalled bridge state of the pirns just prior to their discharge from the said box.

5. A weft filling mechanism according to claim 4, wherein the means for preventing jamming of a so-called bridge state of the pirns just prior to their discharge from the magazine box is a flap-like plate installed in an opening in the bottom of the said magazine box, slightly inward from the discharge end thereof, one edge of the said plate being piv-otally fixed to an oscillating shaft, whereby the said plate is caused to undergo pivotal oscillation above and below the surface of the bottom of the magazine box, thereby imparting nudging motion to the said pirns.

6. In a weft filling machine according to claim 1 wherein said travelling brush endless belt is rotated from the time a pirn is brought to said predetermined position to the time said pirn is supplied into a shuttle.

7. In an automatic loom having an automatic pirnchanging mechanism for successively feeding weft pirns having longitudinal axes to a predetermined position, an improved means for drawing out and holding the yarn end at the tip of each said positioned pirn including means for disposing of said yarn end comprising: an endless brush spaced apart, rolls mounted to engage said endless brush for rotation thereon, said rolls being spaced apart in a plane parallel to the longitudinal axis of said positioned pirn and said brush rotating in runs away from and toward said pirn said brush being arranged for the beginning of said run away from said positioned pirn to contact and engage the yarn end at the tip of said positioned pirn, said engaged yarn end unwinding and being carried on the run away from and then on the run toward said positioned pirn, said change in direction firmly fixing said yarn end in the brush to be held against all yarn tensions; and means moving normal to said run toward said positioned pirn for combing out each said yarn end from said endless brush comprising a stationary shaft mounted parallel to the plane of said positioned pirn, a pin cylinder mounted for rotation about its center axis on said shaft, said rotation being normal to the direction of rotation of said endless brush, said pin cylinder being mounted adjacent the run of said endless brush toward said positioned pirn, and said pin cylinder defining rows of radial pin holes, pins having heads and points extending outwardly, a sta- 7 c tiona'ry camjfdr engaging'said pin heads mounted onsaid References Cited in the file of this patent shaft and enblos'ed said cylinder, cam being P radially offset on said shaft toward said endless brush, and

springs mounted on said pin for biasing them radially 1,095,870 IHPbCTt 1914 inward, whereby when said cylinder is rotated on said 5 2,601,713 Nleld J y 1952 shaft the cam radially prdtrudes'the pins adjacent the endless brush a maximum distance beyond the perimeter of FOREIGN PATENTS the pin cylinder to comb the yarn ends out of said endless 424,817 France Mar. 21, 1911 brush, the springs retracting the pins within the perimeter 256,443 Germany Feb. 11, 1913 of the pin cylinder on its opposite side to release said 10 1,191 Great Britain 1912 combed out yarn ends clear of said brush. 1,950 Great Britain 1912 

1. IN A WEFT FILLING MECHANISM FOR AN AUTOMATIC PIRN CHANGING MECHANISM OF A COP CHANGING, AN AUTOMATIC LOOM WHICH COMPRISES A WEFT PIN STORING AND FEEDING MEANS FOR FEEDING WEFT PIRNS ONE AT A TIME TO A PREDETERMINED POSITION, ARRESTING AND HOLDING MEMBERS FOR POSITIONING AND HOLDING EACH SAID PIRN AT THE SAID PREDETERMINED POSITION, AND A MECHANISM FOR POSITIVELY DRAWING OUT AND HOLDING THE YARN END OF THE SAID PIRN POSITIONED IN THE SAID PREDETERMINED POSITION; THE CONSTRUCTION OF SAID MECHANISM FOR POSITIVELY DRAWING OUT AND HOLDING THE YARN END OF THE SAID PIRN COMPRISING AN ENDLESS, CONTINUOUSLY TRAVELLING BRUSH IN THE FORM OF AN ENDLESS BELT SUPPORTED ON A DRIVING ROLL AND A TENSION ROLL, SAID BRUSH BEING DISPOSED IN THE VICINITY OF SAID PIRN POSITIONED IN THE SAID PREDETERMINED POSITION TO BRUSH THE CONSTRICTED END OF THE SAID POSITIONED PIRN TO DRAW OUT THE YARN END OF THE PIRN AND TO HOLD THE SAME, A PIN CYLINDER WHICH IS PROVIDED WITH A LARGE NUMBER OF OUTWARDLY POINTED PINS SLIDABLY SUPPORTED IN INDIVIDUAL PIN HOLES IN THE CYLINDRICAL WALL OF THE SAID CYLINDER AND DISPOSED IN THE PROXIMITY OF THE SAID TRAVELLING BRUSH ON THE SIDE OPPOSITE THAT OF THE SAID POSITIONED PIRN, THE AXIS OF ROTATION OF SAID CYLINDER BEING SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL TO THE DIRECTION OF THE MOTION OF SAID BRUSH, AND A DEVICE FOR CAUSING THE PROTRUSION OF THE SAID PINS WHEN THEY APPROACH THE SAID ENDLESS BRUSH AND RETRACTION OF THE SAID PINS WHEN THEY GO AWAY FROM THE SAID ENDLESS BRUSH, POSITION OF SAID PROTRUSION OF THE PIN IS SELECTED TO CLAW OFF ANY CUT YARN ENDS CLINGING TO THE SAID BRUSH. 